Recipe: Quinoa Salad with Oranges, Nuts, Fennel and Argan Oil Dressing

Oranges are wonderful in savoury cuisine. This wintry salad combines orange flavours with fennel and crunchy nuts. Recipe by Sophia Schillik, cucinapiccina

Ingredients for 3 to 4 people:

• 1 fennel bulb
• 1/2 red or Roscoff onion, alternatively 3 shallots
• 2 large juicy oranges
• 1 small orange
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp liquid honey
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 4 tbsp argan oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 180 g quinoa (red or white)
• 2 handfuls of mixed roasted nuts (e.g. cashew nuts, smoked almonds, apricot kernels, hazelnuts or pecans)
• Fresh herbs or baby leaves

Preparation:

1. Halve the fennel (remove the stalk) and cut into fine slices. Peel the onion and cut into very fine rings or slices. Place both separately into cold water for 5 minutes.
2. Peel the two large, juicy oranges with a sharp knife all around and remove all the peel and white skin. Cut the fruit into thin slices and collect the leaked juice. Squeeze the smaller orange. Mix 6 tablespoons of orange juice with mustard, honey, garlic, argan oil, salt and pepper into a dressing.
3. Sprinkle the orange slices with curry powder and drizzle with dressing. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
4. Cook the quinoa in salted water for 15 to 20 minutes according to the packet instructions. Drain, allow to stand and then place into a large bowl. Mix in the orange slices with the dressing as well as the onion. Taste and season if necessary. Then serve everything on a plate, sprinkle over the fennel and nuts and garnish with herbs/baby leaves.

This recipe is part of an orange menu that Sophia Schillik created for us. You can also try her recipe for Almond and Orange Muffins with Date and Cacao Frosting as well as the recipe for roasted pointed cabbage with orange and miso mayonnaise.